632
Opinion of White, J.
under" federal law. The critical inquiry is under what circumstances civil penalties arise under federal law.
A
Ohio contends that it is entitled to recover civil penalties on two different claims: the first brought under the CWA itself, through its citizen suit provision, 33 U. S. C. § 1365(a), and the second under the Ohio water pollution laws that arise under the CWA's distinctive mechanism allowing States to administer CWA enforcement within their own boundaries. Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 6111.09 (Supp. 1987). I agree that the waiver of immunity covers both types of claims.
1
First, the CWA waives sovereign immunity for civil penalty claims brought under the Act's citizen suit clause. 33 U. S. C. § 1365(a). See ante, at 615-616. That section unambiguously provides authority to sue "any person (including . . . the United States . . .)" and to recover "any appropriate civil penalties" under the civil penalties clause of the CWA enforcement provision, § 1319(d). It is impossible to fathom a clearer statement that the United States may be sued and found liable for civil penalties. The enforcement provision lists those violations that may be subject to a civil penalty, sets a ceiling on the size of the penalty, and lists factors that the court should consider in determining the amount of a penalty. Ibid.
Nevertheless, the majority concludes that this straightforward approach is not sufficient to waive immunity. The Court latches onto the fact that the enforcement provision does not include its own definition of "person" and that the CWA's general purpose definition of the word "person" does not include the United States. § 1362(5).4 Again, there is a
4 Section 1362(5) states: "The term 'person' means an individual, corporation, partnership, association, State, municipality, commission, or political subdivision of a State, or any interstate body."
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